The Love Center: Pushing Aside The Demons
by Tuttle
Summary: Sequel to AT THE LINE. Nick searches for the people who hurt Mark, Shannon fights to deal with demons from her past. PARTS 17-19 ADDED NOW COMPLETE 2-22-05 PLEASE R&R.
1. Chapter One

A/N: This fic continues where At The Line left off.

"Somebody grab a few bottles of water," Marcie called as the Love Crew worked on the constriction site. Michael came up from behind her, handing her a bottle. She smiled. "Michael," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd bring some news on Mark," he said. "I just came from the hospital so I figured..."

"How's he doing?" Marcie asked. "Has there been any change?"

Michael sighed. "He comes in and out. We haven't really gotten much of a conversation out of him. He looks like... he's gonna have some kind of motor impairment, if nothing else." Michael paused. "Having Nick there everyday seems to be helping though."

Marcie looked at him questioningly. "Nick?" she said "What are you talking about?"

"Nick Messina," Michael said. "He sits with him everyday since he was brought in. What's it been, two weeks now?" Marcie nodded, watching Shannon leave the site. Michael followed Marcie's gaze. "One second, Marc, OK?" he said. He headed off in the same direction as Shannon. He saw her getting a few more bottles of water. "Shannon," he said "Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Oh not right now, Michael" she said. "We're kinda busy."

"This is important" Michael took the water from her. "We need to talk, Shannon. You've been putting me off for weeks."

"That's because I know what you're gonna say and I don't want to hear it. At all."

"Just listen to me," Michael said. "I have nothing against Ron."

"Then that's that," Shannon said. "Can I get back to work now?"

"Shannon, I just think that there's gotta be maybe somebody at the University..."

"Oh my God," Shannon said "Michael, I am not a little kid. This is none of your business."

"I'm not saying that Ron's a bad guy. He's not." Shannon rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is..."

"Michael," Shannon said. "Just stop, OK. Nothing you say is going to change anything. God, just leave this alone. You're not my mom!" Shannon grabbed the water from Michael's hand, storming away from him, back to work.

>>>>>>

"Hi Nick," the nurse at intensive care said as Nick walked in. He had become pretty well known there since Mark's bashing, spending hours at a time each day there. "You're gonna have to wait a little bit before going in today."

"Why, are they doing tests or..."

"You know" she said "Just the normal routine stuff."

Nick sighed, taking a seat waiting for the doctors to leave Mark's room. He slowly made his way to the room looking at Mark. The doctors had removed some of the wires and tubing, but not all of it. The bruises had faded, but still Mark hardly opened his eyes, if he did at all.

Nick took a seat beside the bed. "Hey" he said "You know, Mark... it would be so much easier if you could just tell me who did this to you. Why they did it... It would be so much easier." he paused. "Doctors say you're doing a lot better. All we have to work on now is getting you to keep your eyes open, get you talking again..."

"Oh..." a woman stood in the doorway. "I didn't know anyone was in here."

"No it's... OK" Nick said. The woman was in her early fifties with brown-blonde hair cut to her shoulders. "I'm Nick Messina. I'm a friend of Mark's."

She smiled down at the boy lying in the bed, running her hand through his hair gently, tears in her eyes. "Helen. Helen Solomon," She paused. "Mark's mother."


	2. Chapter Two

Nick got to his feet. "Mrs. Solomon," he said, "I didn't know you had come up."

"My husband... Jack," she said. "We came as soon as we heard." Helen paused. "As soon as we could." She sat beside Mark, gently running her fingers through his hair.

Nick pursed his lips. "Yeah I... could imagine how hard this... Mark told me about his brother."

"JJ" she said "Mark told you about him?"

Nick nodded. "Mark umm... he's been a real friend to me, even when I didn't deserve it. He... opened up to me and... he told me about what happened."

"He's a good boy" Helen said. "He was always such... a sweet boy." She still gazed at Mark sadly. "He took it so bad when his brother died. We never... see him anymore. He can't even come home for the holidays."

"He told me that but... Mrs. Solomon, he's just worried about you. He told me that he's worried of hurting you... of you having to see Jack... JJ... when you look at him. Mark loves you very much. I know that."

"You're very close with my son."

"I like to think so," Nick nodded. "I'm his roommate at the cottage." Nick looked at Helen's questioning glance. "We umm... we're rebuilding the community center in the square since it burned down this summer. There are eight of us... staying in the cottage in town. Hope to get it done soon."

"That's very admirable," Helen said. "You kids giving up your summer, your free time to help out."

"We're helping eachother at the same time," Nick explained. "To make up some group work we missed during the year."

"Still" she said. "It's commendable."

Nick nodded. "I should get going. Football practice." He looked at Mark as if he were speaking to him. "I'll let you have some time with him. Nick looked at Mark again. "I'll be back a little later."

>>>>>>

Michael plopped himself down on the sofa in his suite. He had managed the rest of the day off, but he still had a lot to do, studying for the medical boards. He was aimlessly flipping through the pages now, unable to concentrate. Even the simplest concepts were escaping him now. His mind was elsewhere.

The keys jingled in the door and it swung open. Ron entered, already beginning to unbutton his workshirt. "Michael," he said. "Hey. I didn't think you'd be here."

"Yeah," Michael said. "Managed to talk myself out of the rest of the day. Got the Boards to study for and that's going to take my whole life." He sighed. "It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"Well don't let me disturb you, man," Ron said. "Study away."

Michael took a deep breath placing the book aside. "Ronnie," he said. "I need to ask you." Ron looked at him. "Shannon..."

"Michael, not you too man," Ron said. "Marcie's already gone through the whole thing."

"No, I'm not... I'm just curious, Ron. I'm curious as to what it is that makes you want to date her. What exactly is it that you two have in common?"

"A lot more than you know." Ron said. "Look... I care about Shannon. And you care about Marcie. I know you would never hurt her. You have to know that it's the same with me and Shannon. I would never do anything to hurt her."

"I just would have never thought, ya know?" Michael said. "Shannon really doesn't strike me as your type."

"Neither of us went looking for love, Mike. We just kinda fell into this. But... the feelings are there. And they're real. I care about your cousin very much. I know you want to look out for her. To protect her. But you don't need to protect her from me. You know me, man. You know that I could never..."

"Hurt her," Michael said. "I know. I never thought that you would. I just... this is so all of a sudden and Shannon can be... well a handful sometimes."

"She needs someone to listen," Ron said. "I think she's just got a lot inside."

"Shannon..." he said. "Never really talked too much after she came to live with my Mom. She was really close to her mother. She stayed with her dad after she died and then came to stay with us when he passed away. She never said much more than that."

"Michael. You don't have to worry, OK. Don't worry about Shannon. Trust me. I'm just getting to know her." He took a deep breath, patting Michael on the back. "I'm gonna hit the shower. Study away."


	3. Chapter Three

"Who's cooking tonight?" Riley said, coming into the kitchen. "And when are they going to start? I'm starving."

"Nick" Shannon said. "And he's not here so I think we're on our own."

"Figures," Riley sighed. "Some things never change."

"Like the fact that I never get the benefit of the doubt from you?" Nick said, in the doorway. He handed over the bags of takeout from the diner. "I've got foot ball practice. That's pretty important."

"Pretty long practice" Julie said.

"Yeah well... I got a lot of work to do to catch up." Nick lied. He looked at Riley. "I bought it, you can serve it." He started back outside.

Shannon waited a minute before following Nick outside. He was standing in the front, tossing the football up in the air. He looked so vulnerable to her and she thought back to her SDD task. Now could be a perfect time to start the process.

"You OK?" Shannon said softly, shuffling her feet down closer to him.

"Fine," Nick said, still tossing the ball up in the air, not even completely listening to her.

"Looks like there's something on your mind," Shannon stretched her hand out to rest it on his chest. "Nicky..."

Nick snapped his hand out, grabbing her wrist. "Do not call me that," he said

"Nick..." she said "You're hurting me. Nick... please... please stop. You're hurting me."

"Get your hands off of her," Ron said coming up to the cottage, pushing Nick away from her.

"Ron..." Shannon was holding her wrist. "I'm OK, don't... it's OK."

"You better walk away, Messina." Ron said. "You better get out of here."

Nick had a blank look on his face, backing away from them, just heading down the road. Ron looked over at Shannon, who was shaken, seemed terrified.

"Shannon?" Ron said. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," she said, pulling back from him. "I'm fine OK, I'm alright. It's... kinda cold out here, don't ya think?"

"Shannon, why don't you talk to me?"

"Because it's no big deal," Shannon jumped everytime Ron got closer. "Please. Please, just... just leave it alone, Ronnie, please." She wiped her eyes. "Leave it alone."

>>>>>>

Nick made his way into the hospital slowly, walking down to Mark's room and entering. It still looked as though Mark was still sleeping, but the multiple machines told Nick differently.

"Hey," Nick said, sitting down beside Mark's bed. He brushed the hair back off his forehead. "I told you I'd be back, right?" He was gentle. "Your parents were here, they came to see you." Nick took a deep breath, letting it out through his partly pursed lips. "I met your mom... she's really nice." He paused. "You gotta get back to life here. You've got to tell me who did this to you. I want to help you so much... after everything you did for me, I want to find out what really happened. God, Mark, I owe you that much."

Nick let his fingers now trail down Mark's cheek, tracing his jaw line. "I um... I really just lost it today," he said. "I think I really hurt Shannon. I didn't mean to, I just... my mind is all over the place and I snapped. Having you in here like this is.... I just keep thinking that I could have done something to prevent this. That if I stayed in that locker room a little longer, or if I hadn't come in at all to distract you... then maybe this would all be different. You wouldn't be in here. I wish you could tell me that it wasn't my fault. Mark... you saved my life and I couldn't even do the same for you. You saved me from death you saved me from... from myself and you got me to admit something to myself that I would have never been able to admit otherwise. I just wish I could have told you before all this happened. I wish I could have told you how much you mean... how much I love you." He paused. "Hell, I don't even know if you can hear me. But if you can... I want you to know it. I want that to be a reason that you fight to get back here. Because I love you, Mark." Nick paused, kissing his forehead softly. He sighed, getting up from his seat and starting for the door.

"Nick..." the voice was soft, weak, but Nick turned around, staring at Mark who was wide awake. "I... love you too."


	4. Chapter Four

Nick stopped dead in his tracks, staring back at Mark. "You're... awake." he said . "Mark, God, you're awake." He moved back over to the bed.

"My head..." he said softly. "It hurts..."

"I know," Nick said. "I know. Mark... what happened? Do you know? Do you remember?" Nick watched him try to flex his fingers, move his arm. "Mark?"

"I can't..." he said obviously frustrated by the minimal mobility.

"Mark? Do you remember who did this to you?" Nick leaned forward.

"I... I remember going for a swim" he said. "And I remember going to change... in the locker room and... that's it. That's all."

"You don't remember me meeting you?? Nick asked. "After your swim... in the locker room?.." Mark shook his head. "Damnit!" Nick said. "You don't remember who..."

"Nick... maybe... maybe it's better that way."

"Better that whoever did this can do it again? How can that be better?"

"I can hardly... move my arm." Mark said. "I am never going to swim again. I don't know how I'm going to finish this project with you guys. And I'm not going to be able to finish the year because without swimming, I lose my scholarship."

"You're smart, Mark," Nick said. "You can still stay at LU on academic."

"Not after failing chem." he said "Marcie lost her academic scholarship..."

"You know that this project is making up that grade."

"Forget it, Nick, OK?" Mark said. "I can't swim. That's one thing that... Coach was going to have me go out for Olympic trials. And he said I had a real shot. Me. Mark Solomon who never finds a reason to associate with anyone and always has his nose in a book. Me in the Olympic Games." He sighed. "Doesn't matter anyway."

"Don't give me that," Nick said. "You can still do all that. If you can get me to kick the habit then you can do anything."

Mark shook his head. "I'm never going to remember what happened and I'm never going to be the same."

"You never changed."

"They changed me!" Mark exclaimed. "Whoever did this to me changed me." He stared up at the ceiling, growing silent. Nick took a seat once again, remaining quiet, just sitting with him.

>>>>>>

"Hey Marcie..." John said walking into the LPD in the morning. "It's a little early for you to be here this morning, isn't it?"

"We're working at the site this afternoon, so the Commissioner said I could come in earlier." she said

"Well I'll let you get back to work" John smiled, heading over to his desk. He took a seat, beginning to sift through his papers as Michael walked into the department looking over to see Marcie at her desk.

"Marc," Michael said. "Marc, he's awake."

"What are you talking about?" Marcie said.

"Mark" he said "I had to come tell you in person. He's awake, he's talking..."

"He's OK?" Marcie said. "He's awake and he's OK?"

"I went down to the school, they're on the way to the hospital. Marcie... he's got limited muscle strength in his right arm and hand. He's going to need serious therapy..."

"You talking about Mark Solomon?" John asked stepping over. Michael nodded. "He alright to answer some questions?"

"I don't know how much he's gonna be able to tell you." Michael said. "He's got post-traumatic amnesia. Can't remember anything that happened. Trying to force him into remembering... could really complicate things."

"Can I go see him?" Marcie asked. "Does he remember us?"

"Yeah," Michael said. "Yeah, he just... doesn't remember that day very much. I can bring you down there." Marcie nodded, grabbing her jacket and purse. "Come on."

>>>>>>

**BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS**

"And as you can see... the simplicity and straight forwardness of the layout add to the effectiveness of the as. It's a guarantee to catch the eye of the consumer, especially our target, women 18 to 34."

"That's all well and good, Mr. Walsh, but how are you proposing we do this?"

Eric stood from his seat at the end of the board room table. "Well sir... we start out by placing it in the magazines. Teen, Cosmo... and in the second wave of the campaign, we introduce the ad into a commercial spot. Air it during the daytime dramas. You'll have the housewives, the college crowd. Curiosity will peak, sales will skyrocket."

Glances were cast around the table and hushed conversation ensued momentarily. "Mr. Walsh..." the man said. "It'll be a pleasure doing business with you."

Eric smiled, shaking the man's hand, sealing the deal. As the boardroom emptied. He hung back a moment, organizing the presentation as the door to the room opened. "Eric?" the young secretary, Kelsey said. Eric looked up. "James is here to see you. He's waiting in your office."

"Thanks Kelsey" he said. Eric gathered his things, heading down to the office. He entered seeing James standing by Eric's desk. "What's the matter James?" he said closing the door.

"We need to talk" James said.


	5. Chapter Five

Nick sat in Mark's room silently, still there from the night before. Mark awoke, looking over at him. "You're still here?" Mark said.

"Always" he said. "I couldn't just leave. I wasn't going to." Nick paused. "Umm... Michael was in before, he went to get in touch with everyone from the Center. They're gonna be coming down to see you."

"How long... have I actually been in here?" Mark said. "Out of it."

"Two weeks." Nick said. He watched Mark sigh. "But you're up now, you're awake and you're talking so that's good."

Mark laughed, shaking his head. "When did you become such an optimist?"

Nick smiled. "After you showed me how easy it was." Mark laughed. "You know us dumb jocks." Nick continued. "We can't grasp something unless you shove it in our faces."

"You are not... a dumb jock." Mark said. "You are the furthest thing from it. You proved that."

"Yeah real well" Nick said sarcastically. "Shooting myself up proved to be a real smart move."

"You kicked it," Mark said. "You know how much courage that took?"

"It's not like I did it alone" Nick said, fingering through his hair. "I would have never been able to do it if I didn't have you there."

"I didn't do anything..."

"You saved my life," Nick said. "Mark... you saved my life." He smiled down at him, still tunneling gently through his hair. "I'm so glad you're OK." He leaned his head down, kissing him softly. Mark suddenly brought up his good arm, hand rested on the back of Nick's head, deepening the kiss, getting completely caught up in it.

"Oh... my God."

Nick's heart stopped. He knew the voice. He quickly spun to look at the door. He couldn't say a word, staring at Shannon who now stood in the doorway in shock.

"Oh my God" Shannon said again. "I'll... I'll come back. This is a bad... I'll come back..."

"Shannon" Nick said. "Shannon wait, wait OK," he jumped up going after her. "Shannon!"

>>>>>>

**BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS**

"We need to talk." James said.

Eric closed his office door, looking at the expression on James' face. "Do I need to sit?" Eric asked. "James?"

"I would," he said. Eric remained standing. James sighed. "He called again."

"James... you know that's just Dad's way to try to get us to cancel this wedding."

"You haven't said a word to your father in years. He wouldn't even know if you got back from Iraq in one piece if it wasn't for your sister. But he finds it necessary to worry about this wedding, to make a point in seeing that we don't do this. I can't take this anymore, Eric."

"It's not going to stop," Eric said. "If it's not my Dad, it's going to be somebody else. Not everyone is like Marcie."

"Yeah well... I don't know if I can handle it anymore. I know that you want a relationship with your family, Eric. Your whole family and there is only one thing standing in the way of that. Me."

"No" he said. "Don't say that. You know that my father is opposed to the whole idea of me being gay."

"But he didn't threaten to disown you until he found out you were going to marry me. At least before that you always had the option of going home."

"You're not making any sense." Eric said. "I thought we were passed all of this. I want my brothers and my Dad to be a part of this but if they can't accept it, then that's the way it has to be. You're my family too now." he paused. "Unless... you're not happy. James..."

"I don't think I can do this Eric." he said. Eric sat now. "I don't think I can go through with this wedding."

"All we have to do is give it time..."

James shook his head. "It's not going to work, Eric. Nothing's ever gonna change. Nobody would ever look at us as a normal couple."

"Who decides what's normal?" Eric said. "Did he talk to you? Did my Dad say something to you that made you..."

"He didn't say anything," James said. "I've been thinking about this for a long time."

"And you just decided to tell me now?"

"My agency's transferring me to New York. The van will be by this afternoon to pick up my things. I'm sorry Eric."

"That's it?" Eric said. "After two years, that's all you can say is you're sorry?"

"It has to be this way. I can't..."

"You can't handle it." Eric said. "What do you plan on going back into the closet now too? It's safer that way, right?" Eric shook his head. "I thought I knew you better than that, James."

James sighed. "I guess you were wrong," he said softly. They were both silent for a moment before James started to move towards the door. "Goodbye Eric."

Eric watched him go, pain wrenching his body. After a moment he picked up the phone. "Kelsey..." he said to the secretary. "Do me a favor OK, reschedule the rest of my appointments for the week..." he sniffled "And- book me a ticket to Pennsylvania through Pine Valley Airport. I need to go to Llanview."


	6. Chapter Six

"Shannon!" Nick called. "Shannon stop, OK. Stop." He caught up to her, taking a gentle hold of her shoulder. "Look at me, Shannon." He seemed terrified of this getting out.

"You're gay?" she said.

"Can we not broadcast it?" Nick said. "Please."

"You're gay?" Shannon said softer. "Nick Messina?"

"Shannon, please, OK." Nick practically begged her. "You can't tell anyone. Please."

"Stop squirming superstar." Shannon said, stopping him. "I'm not going to tell anyone." She could see the terror in Nick's eyes subside a bit. "Geez, shill out, Nick... you're really freaked out about this."

"Nobody can know. If the guys on the team find out... or at KAD..."

"I won't say anything," Shannon said. She sighed thinking now about her SDD task. It was hopeless now. There was no way she was going to get him into bed now. "You can do something for me though."

"What do you want, Shannon?"

Shannon smirked at her bright idea. "Well since you don't want anyone to know about your... relationship, we can kinda help eachother. All you have to do is go on and on about you sleeping with me."

Nick laughed. "You want me to say we had sex."

"Gives you a girl and me a way into the SDD."

"Sorority pledging," Nick said. "You never struck me as one who would want to be one of the sisters."

"Well sometimes we don't know everything about eachother, do we?" She paused. "So will you help me?"

"As long as you keep your mouth shut about what you saw in there."

"See?" Shannon said. "What did I see? I didn't see anything."

"Then go ahead and spread the word about how great I was in bed. And do be sure to exaggerate."

"Thanks, Nick," Shannon leaned forward, kissing his cheek.

"Don't worry about it, OK?" Nick said. "Just... do what you have to do."

>>>>>>

Eric had managed to get himself on the first plane out of Boston, landing almost immediately in Pine Valley. It took him longer to drive to Llanview, but he pulled up in front of the construction site where he had recalled Marcie telling him that they had all been working. He stepped out of the rental car, walking slowly towards the building, calling out when he didn't see anyone.

"Hello?" Eric said. "Anyone here?" He didn't get a response, walking further into the structure, looking around. They had really gotten a lot of work done for one summer. Especially after experiencing all of the vandalism that Marcie had told him abut. Eric sighed. He had really missed seeing Marcie. They were always so close growing up and being so far away, especially while he was in Iraq, was hard for both of them.

"There something I can help you with?" Ron said, coming up behind him. Eric turned around.

"Don't recognize your own baby brother?" he said.

"Eric?" Ron said. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too Ronnie." Eric said. It was a little awkward. He knew what Ron thought about his life style. "I was... looking for Marcie."

"She's at the hospital" Ron said. He saw Eric's expression. "No, no. She's visiting a friend. The whole crew is." Ron paused. "I didn't know you were in town."

Eric took a deep breath, nodded. "It was... last minute, actually. I have some time and... well I thought I'd come to Llanview." There was a long awkward pause. "I'll umm... I guess I'll just head on over to the hospital. Yeah, I'll... head on over there." Ron nodded silently. "Umm... see ya, Ronnie."

>>>>>>

"It's a miracle, you know that?" Marcie smiled, sitting in the waiting room with Jen and Riley. "How he can just wake up like this. It's amazing."

"Yeah, well you know Mark," Jen said. "He wasn't about to give up anytime soon."

"It's still amazing." Marcie smiled, standing now, walking towards the door, looking out through the hallway. She had to look twice over towards the nurse's station. It couldn't possibly him, she thought. "Eric?" she said.

He looked over. "Hi sis," Eric smiled.

Marcie ran towards him, casting her arms around her brother. "Oh my God, I didn't know you were coming. How come you didn't tell me you were coming?"

"It was a last minute decision," Eric hugged her. "I'm so glad to be here though."

Marcie smiled. "Did James come with you?"

Eric took a deep breath. "Umm no" he said "He's really busy... new campaign. You know how busy we can get." Marcie nodded. "Yeah I... I just wanted to see you."

"Oh I can't wait to sit down and go over wedding plans..."

"Yeah umm... Marc..." Eric said. "We need to talk about that."


	7. Chapter Seven

"Eric," Marcie said, looking at her brother. "What's left to talk about?" Do you want different arrangements or something?"

Eric took a deep breath. He couldn't do this to her now. Not with her friend in the hospital. He couldn't tell Marcie that there wasn't going to be a wedding. "No I was just thinking that we could use my time here to just ... be together. No wedding no planning, just us hanging out like we used to."

Marcie smiled. "I'd like that. Yeah. How long are you here for?"

"A week maybe. Maybe longer. I'm just gonna see how things go."

"Great," Marcie beamed. "That is so great. I'm so glad you're here, Eric." Marcie clung to him.

Eric held her. "Me too. Marc." He said. "Me too."

>>>>>>

"I can't do this," Mark said letting a tennis ball sit limply in his right hand. "I can hardly move my arm, you want me to throw the ball? I can't even make a fist."

"Just try Mark," the therapist said to him gently. "How about we just start by trying to just hold the ball in your hand. Nice and easy."

Mark struggled to close his fingers around the tennis ball, taking more than a few moments to accomplish the task."

"Great," the therapist said. "Great job, Mark."

"This is impossible," Mark said.

"You just got halfway there. If you keep working at it, I wouldn't be surprised if you recovered all movement in your arm. But you have to keep doing these exercises. Find somebody to toss the ball around with." he paused. "And Mark... do get back into the pool."

"Yeah..." Mark said. "Sure..."

"You can't quit. It's good for your recovery."

"My recovery..." Mark sighed. "Whatever you say, Roger."

"Mark..."

"I got it," Mark said, trying to dismiss him.

"I want to see you as an outpatient once a week after you're released." Mark nodded, seemingly defeated. "Good job today."

Roger got up and exited the room. Shannon was waiting to enter. "Hey," she said.

"Hey, Shannon," Mark said moving around the room.

"Wow... moving around already."

"My legs work, just not my hand." Mark said.

"You're OK though," Shannon "And your bruises are gone. That's good."

"If you say so."

Shannon pursed her lips. "Umm... look, about before..."

"Forget about it," Mark said. "Shannon, really. Please."

"I won't tell anybody." Shannon said sincerely. "I won't."

Mark nodded. "I appreciate it. Nick would... he's not ready to be out. And after what happened to me..."

"Some people just suck," Shannon sighed. She paused, smiled. "So what about Nick? How long have you two been... you know, together?"

"Not too long. A little before I ended up in here." Mark said.

"What's it like?.. I mean... it's a stupid question... but what's it like... being with another guy?"

Mark laughed. "It's... not any different than what you feel being with a guy. When you care for someone... it doesn't matter who you are. I think the heart still loves the same."

"And you don't mind if nobody knows you two are together?"

"It's hard to tell everybody that you're gay. That you're different. Different scares people. I would know. I got my head knocked in." Mark paused. "You have to be ready to spill that kinda news. I'm not ready to tell my parents. Nick's not ready to tell anyone. That's OK." Mark looked at her. "What about you? You never talk about a boyfriend."

"Well I am seeing someone." Shannon smiled. "Ron Walsh."

"Ron? Good for you."

"He's really great." Shannon said. "He really understands me and... he listens to what I have to say. He's wonderful."

"I'm really happy for you." Mark said. "You deserve it." Mark went to grab a bag.

"Here let me help you." Shannon said. "At least you get to come back to the cottage... get out of here. I think Marcie and Riley are out there. They'll give us a lift back. And don't worry. I meant what I said. I won't tell anybody what I saw." Mark nodded. "Come on."


	8. Chapter Eight

A few days had passed and the construction of the Love Center continued. Mark mostly negotiated the plans, still unable too grip the tools, getting flustered and frustrated at points.

"I'm starving," Hudson said. "Are we gonna call it a day or what?"

Riley looked around. "I think we did get a lot done. I think we should quit too."

"Me too," Nick said. "I'm beat. I got a game tomorrow."

"Homecoming game coming up?" Shannon asked.

"Still have some time for that, but the scouts are still coming around . I', gonna go pro if it kills me."

"So let's call it a day." Riley said. "Who wants to get a burger?"

"Gross," Julie crinkled her face and shook her head.

"I guess that's a no"

"I'm in" Jen said.

"Yeah, me too" Marcie added.

"What about you guys?" Riley asked.

"Sure, why not," Hudson said. He looked at Julie. "Come on, I'll buy you a... Boca Burger."

"Julie laughed. "Sure," she said.

Shannon was gathering her belongings. "Can't" she said "I've got a date."

Riley smiled. "What about you two? Mark? Nick?"

"No..." Mark said. "No, I'm gonna... head back to the cottage."

"You sure?" Mark nodded. "Nick?"

"I'll... catch up with you guys a little later."

"Rodi's." Riley said. "Later."

Nick held back as the others left the site. He slowly made his way over to Mark. "Why don't you just come with us?" Nick said.

"I'd rather not." Mark replied.

"Right... you're tired. You have something else to do."

"Get off my back, nick."

"What the hell happened to you?" Nick said.

"That's the question, isn't it?" Mark sighed.

"I get it," Nick said. "I get it, OK. You're pissed that you're hurt. But I offer... day after day I offer to help you with those exercises and day after day you come up with an excuse. I want to help you."

"I don't need you feeling sorry for me."

"No, you're doing a good enough job feeling sorry for yourself."

"I don't have time for this."

"Why?" You're just heading back to the cottage anyway." Mark began to head out of the center and Nick grabbed for him. "You know... I seem to remember not too long ago, a time that I told you to leave me the hell alone." Nick paused. "And if you had listened, I'd probably be dead right now. I am not about to let you beat yourself up because you don't think you can handle this. And I'm not going to let you push me away." Mark sighed. "Hey... do not tune me out, Mark."

Mark took a deep breath. "I'm tired. Go get something to eat. They're waiting for you."

"It's no big deal. I can go over plays or something."

"Go to Rodi's Nick." Mark said. "I don't need a babysitter." Mark slowly made his way away from the construction site, leaving Nick standing there alone.

>>>>>>

Shannon walked into Ultra Violet, looking around for a moment before spotting Ron. She smiled widely approaching him. "Hey," Shannon said. "You weren't waiting forever, were you?"

"No," Ron smiled. "I figured you guys were still at the site. How's it going?"

"Well we've got one less person working and we're running out of money, but we're doing just fine. Perfect in fact."

Ron laughed. "That goo, huh?"

"Oh, even better." Shannon said. "Who's playing tonight?"

"I think it's open mic night or something," Ron said. "Hey how... how is Mark holding up?"

"He doesn't like to talk about it. He doesn't remember who did it to him and... he still has trouble with his hand. I feel horrible. Honestly."

"It's gotta be hard." Ron said. "I mean... I broke my leg as a kid... and I thought that was a pain."

"Yeah, he broke a bunch of bones when I was a kid."

"Who did?" Ron asked.

"What?"

"You said 'he' broke a lot of bones..."

"I" Shannon said. "I broke a lot of bones. That's what I said. Can we eat?" She brushed it off.

"Shannon..." Ron said. "You want to talk..."

"Not about this." she said. "No."

"You brush this stuff off an awful lot."

"I don't want to talk about it, Ronnie. OK?" Shannon got defensive. "Please leave it alone."

"You want to order?" A server asked them.

"Can't anyone just leave me alone?" Shannon said, getting up and rushing out of the club.

Ron stood, staring after her. "Shannon he called, staring to follow her. "Shannon!"


	9. Chapter Nine

Mark let himself into the cottage with a sigh. He fell back onto one of the easy chairs.

"Whatcha doin' home?" Roxy asked, coming out of the kitchen with a bag of chips.

"I just didn't feel like going out for food." he said "I'm not hungry."

"You sure that's it?" Roxy said stuffing the potato chips in her mouth. "Cuz... I have what's it... sick cents."

Mark raised his eyebrows. "You mean a sixth sense?"

"Yeah, that too," Roxy said. "You ain't the same since... them animals came after you."

Mark stood, beginning to pace. "Believe me. I realized that."

"So what is it?" Roxy said. "I know I probably ain't the right person to help. But I got two ears that work. So... let's see. Is this a relationship thing?" You got yourself a boyfriend?"

"Roxy!" Mark said.

"Is it that... Jason? Justin. You still going with him?"

"We went out once." Mark said. "He never called."

"So like a guy, not callin' when he says he will." Roxy shook her head. "So does that have you all bummed?"

"No," Mark said. "Look Roxy, forget it..."

"Wait, wait. I'm good at this guess game stuff. I still wanna play. So am I close? Is it boyfriend stuff?

Mark sighed. "Kinda... I guess."

"So you do have one. Or are you looking?" Roxy paused. "Hold on..." she took his face in her hands. "You've got one. I can tell by that look."

"That look... is my face being flattened. Roxy..." he gently pulled back from her.

"So what's his name?" Roxy smiled.

Mark pursed his lips. "You know, he's not... he's not out with anyone else yet and..."

"Got it! You want him to keep his animality." Mark raised his eyebrows, trying to wrap his mind around what Roxy just said. "You know. Keep who he is a secret."

"Anonymity. Right." Mark said.

"That's right." Roxy said. "So you having a fight or somethin'?"

"I don't know what it is." he said. "It's just this thing... with my hand and... he keeps saying that I need to get out and work around it. Help myself heal..."

"Sounds like a smart boy." Roxy said.

"I'm not getting any better" he said.

"Well... he sure thinks you can." Roxy said. "So now you turn you bottom around and you go meet him where ever you sent him by his lonesome." Mark went to protest. "Don't argue with the house momma." She gently slapped his cheek. "Go."

>>>>>>

Shannon sat in the square kicking her feet at the ground. Ron approached her slowly. He took a seat beside her, silent at first. "I don't like to talk about when I was a kid," she said softly.

"I didn't mean to push you." Ron said gently. "It's just something that... everytime it comes up, you flip out on me."

"It's not something I like to remember. I went to live with my Aunt after my father finally kicked it and that's all I want to think about."

"I can sense the animosity."

"I told you," Shannon said "He was a creep. My mom was dying and he was... boinking some other woman. She was such a great person and she could have been with like... any guy she wanted. But she 'loved' my dad. She 'loved' him so much. So she let him sleep around on her and she just sat back and took it when he'd... when he would slap her around." Shannon choked out the final words.

"Your father..." Ron said. "Shannon is that what you meant when you said 'he' broke the bones?" Shannon shook her head. "Shannon. What did he do to you?"

"Nothing" Shannon said.

"Did he hit you?" Ron pushed. "Is he the one who broke the bones?"

"Stop Ronnie," Shannon cried.

"Please tell me. Did he hit you?"

"I'm glad he's dead! I'm glad he's dead! When he died I didn't cry because he was disgusting. He was disgusting and... no matter how hard I tried I could get him to stop. I begged him..." Shannon shook. She couldn't keep from trembling. "I begged him every night but I couldn't get him to stop."

Ron moved closer to her, trying to control Shannon's shaking, her fear evident in her eyes. "What else did he do to you Shannon? He didn't just hit you. What did he do?"

Shannon shook her head, hysterical. "Nothing," Ron moved even closer. "Stop! Stop, Ron, stop it. Just stop!" Shannon got up and ran off, away from him.


	10. Chapter Ten

**WARNING! This part contains subject matter that some readers might find offensive. Please read with caution.**

Nick decided against dinner and headed to LU and the locker room. A couple of the guys from he team were there, working out for the next day's game. Nick spun the combination on his locker.

"Still look beat, Messina," Ethan said, just coming back from his run.

"Yeah, well that garbage you gave me almost put me in the ground." Nick swung the door open.

"Hey, lower your voice." Ethan countered. "We can get into some serious trouble."

Nick pulled out a pair of track pants and slammed the door shut. "Tell me something Ethan. How bad do you want to start before the end of the season? Bad enough that you'd watch me die?"

"What the hell are you talking about Messina?" Ethan said honestly. "We didn't try to kill you. We tried to help."

Nick sighed. "Whatever. I gotta do some sprints, clear my head."

"You coming to the meeting later.?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna run, shower... then I'll meet you at the house."

"Don't keep us waiting too long. We're tapping one tonight."

"Great," Nick said, but sighed inwardly. The last thing he really wanted to do was get drunk that night. He would just roll with it. "I'll see you guys later."

>>>>>>

Shannon had managed to make her way to John's room at the hotel. She knocked loudly, furiously, but John didn't answer. He was obviously not at home. Shannon sank down on the floor, trying to catch her breath, her mind racing as she stared forward in a trance.

_The coughing coming from the next room shook Shannon to the core. She was worried and scared, but she didn't cry. She had to be strong. Shannon sat on her bed, her radio playing softly._

The front door slammed loudly and Shannon heard the jingle of keys and then the thud of the handgun as it hit the table by the doorway. She was used to the sound by now. Living with a cop did that. He was intimidating. He was a handsome man, but he could strike fear into even the toughest of criminals. That's what made him such a great cop. But Shannon froze every time the door opened and she heard that thud on the table. Because Aidan McBain wasn't only intimidating to the bad guys, he struck fear into his family as well. He had a blind rage that would strike out of nowhere and he didn't hesitate to take it out on whoever was in his path.

Shannon was terrified to even make a sound, because once he realized she was home and her mother sick in bed, a whole new nightmare would start. As if suffering through his rage wasn't enough, she was much more horrified of having to endure more than that.

Shannon's heart froze as she heard the foot steps coming down the hallway towards her room. She had told herself so many times that she was going to pack her bags and take off, but she would always stop, thinking of her mother. Her mother was ill and Shannon couldn't leave her for her monster of a father to take advantage of. Shannon would much rather have taken the abuse herself than to have her mother suffer another minute. So Shannon stayed.

The doorknob turned slowly and Shannon had already managed to click the radio off and slither under the bedsheets. Maybe if he thought she was already asleep he would leave her alone. But Shannon heard the heavy footsteps draw closer and she squeezed her eyes tighter, praying to herself, to anyone that could hear her to make him stop.

But he didn't stop. He didn't even say a word, but he let his hand fall onto her lower back, sliding it around and then down under the waistband of her pajamas. She whimpered uncomfortably, afraid to fight him, afraid to pull away, afraid of what might happen to her if she did.

Shannon was shaking. She had to stop thinking about it. She had to forget it had happened. Shannon took a deep breath, shutting her eyes for a moment trying to collect herself. She couldn't stay in front of John's room, she had to get back to the cottage, try to sleep, forget about this. She stood, quickly headed down the stairs and out the door.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Nick ran out through the streets off the campus of Llanview University, keeping up a decent pace as he came upon town, slowing to make his way into the store and the refrigerator case, grabbing a bottle of water. Nick cracked open the seal on the bottle, taking a sip. He rounded the corner to produce, bumping hard into someone.

"Sorry man," Nick said.

"Don't worry about it" Eric looked at him. He had not had any opportunity to meet Nick, not recognizing or knowing who he was. He looked at him, smiled softly. "You OK?"

"Yeah," Nick said. "Yeah, I'm fine. You're gonna think I'm crazy but... you look familiar. Have we met?"

Eric shook his head. "I don't think so. I've only been in town a few weeks."

"I must be thinking of someone else," Nick said.

"Eric," he said

"Nick..." Eric looked directly at him. "I hope I'm not jumping to conclusions... or being out of line here, but... maybe I could give you my number..."

"You mean to call you?"

Eric laughed. "Usually the thing you do with the phone number. I mean if you're not... I'm usually pretty good telling if a guy's..."

"Gay?" Nick said, his voice getting softer. "I'm not out..."

"Oh I understand," Eric said "That's fine. I'm being to forward."

"No," Nick said. "Not at all."

"Let me um..." Eric pulled out a piece of paper, wrote down his number. "I'm usually around..."

"Sure," Nick said. "I gotta get going." He smiled. "I'll talk to you later."

>>>>>>

Michael stepped out of the hospital waiting room, placing a patient file down at the nurses' station and checking the time. He sighed, yawning as the elevator doors opened and Shannon stepped off.

Shannon?" Michael saw her. "What are you doing here? Are you OK?"

Shannon shook her head. "No. No, I... Michael I was thinking... thinking about when I was a kid."

"When you 'were' a kid?" Michael laughed.

"Of my dad... Michael," Shannon said. "Of what..."

"Stop," Michael said. "Shannon we swore that we'd never talk about him again."

"I was just... with everything happening Mark... with him being beaten... he almost died. Whoever hurt him, left him to die. He didn't have somebody to ride in and save him. Michael, back then you..."

"Shannon," he said "No more."

"You saved me Michael. I would have died if you hadn't sh..."

"Enough! Shannon!" Michael let his voice lower drastically. "He's dead. We don't have to talk about him anymore. He isn't going to be able to do anything to hurt you anymore. He can't, Shannon. Now we said we wouldn't mention it again. It's over."

"But Michael..."

"Over, Shannon," Michael said. "I disappeared from home and I didn't turn back and it was because of what went down with that son of a pregnant dog. I got a new start. So did you, Shannon. So let's leave it at that, OK? Shannon?"

"Yeah," Shannon said softly. "I'm sorry, Michael. I... I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry."

Shannon turned suddenly and headed back towards the elevator. The doors opened and she stepped on, remaining silent as the slid shut again and she descended to the lobby.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**WARNING! This part contains subject matter that some readers might find offensive. Please read with caution.**

Michael stepped into his room, having just arrived home from work. He grabbed his textbook and opened it up, laying it in front of him. He stared at the page, unable to think about anything but Shannon. He couldn't keep his mind off of it.

Shannon was the baby of the three McBains, being eight years younger than Michael and eleven younger than John. Michael thought back. He had already spent two years at college and he was heading back to Atlantic City for the first time since his Aunt's funeral two years earlier. Even back then he had seen pain on Shannon's face. He had blamed it on the funeral. Shannon and her mother had been very close. But he wouldn't argue that the pain was there. The fear...

_Michael stood outside his uncle's home and rang the doorbell. He waited a moment but nobody answered. "Uncle Aidan?" Michael called, knocking now. The patrol car was parked in the driveway, but still nobody came to the door. "Shannon! Sweetie, are you home?" Still nothing. Michael bent down and picked up the hide-a-key, pushing his way inside._

"Shannon?" Michael called again. He could hear muffled whimpering coming from the bedroom. Instinctively, Michael grabbed for the handgun on the table in front of him. If somebody was in the house, he wasn't going to let himself get hurt. He slowly made his way towards the room, the whimpering becoming more clear.

Michael slowly pushed open the door and stopped short. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Didn't want to believe it. Shannon was pinned on the bed. Little, innocent, twelve year old Shannon and there was his uncle, her father holding her down, trying to perform the most horrible of all acts anyone, let alone a father, could do to a child.

"Get off of her," Michael said loudly. Aidan McBain heard him now, looked back. "Get your disgusting hands off of her."

Aidan looked at him, pulling himself up. "Turn around, Michael and put the gun down."

Michael didn't even realize that he had the gun drawn on his uncle. "Shannon," Michael said. "Go call John. Get on the phone and tell John to get down here. Tell him what happened and tell him to get down here now." Shannon didn't move. "Shann... Go." Shannon managed to get up and out of the room. Michael kept the gun drawn.

"Put the gun down, Michael," Aidan said.

"You son of a pregnant dog." Michael said. "How could you! She's your daughter. How could you?"

"Just... put the gun down, Michael. Walk away from this. You can still walk away."

"And let you abuse her?" Michael said. "And let you rape your own daughter?" Aidan stepped closer to Michael, whose hand shook. "Stop! John is coming and he is going to find out exactly what it is you've been doing."

Aidan reached for the gun, trying to get it away from Michael. The struggle continued as Shannon stepped back into the doorway with John unnoticed.

"Michael!" John said. It was sudden and loud as the gun discharged, Shannon screamed. Neither man moved for a moment and then Michael stepped back in shock, shaking as his uncle slumped to the floor.

"I... shot..." Michael stammered.

John walked over to him and grabbed the gun from Michael. "Get out of here, Mikey." he said

"But I shot..."

"Get out of here, Michael! Get on a bus, go back to school and don't say anything. Don't say anything and I'll take care of it." Michael didn't move. "Go!"

Michael?" Marcie was knocking on the door. "Michael, are you home? It's me."

Michael shook out of his trance, going to the door in a cold sweat, swinging it open. "Marcie. Hi, sweetie. Come on in."

Marcie stepped inside, looking at him. "What happened?" she said "Michael, you look like you've seen a ghost. My God..."

"It's nothing" he said .

"You're as white as a sheet." she said.

"I'm fine, Marcie." Michael said again.

"You're shaking..."

"Please. Drop it,"

"But Michael..."

"Marcie!" Michael stopped himself. "I'm sorry. I just... I had a bad day. Lost a patient." he lied.

"Michael, I'm sorry. I can leave you alone if you want..."

"No," Michael held her closely. "No I want you to stay. I need you to stay Marcie. I need you to stay."


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Nick went right over to the frat house after his run and shower. He wasn't much in the mood for a party, but there'd be a keg and at least he could get drunk, Forget about that whole day.

"Nice of you to show up, Messina," Sean said, approaching him with a cup. "We tapped it without you."

Nick took the cup. "I told you I'd be here and I'm here. So what did I miss?"

"Nothing yet," Sean smiled. "The SDD is throwing a party of their own and we're just going to... wander over there, try to scare up some ass."

"Scare up... some ass." Nick said, downing the brew. "Right, like any of those girls are even gonna take a second look at your sorry ass."

"Well excuse us if we all can't be as lucky with the ladies as you are, Messina," Ethan said, coming into the conversation. "Word's going around that you bagged the McBain chick, Shannon."

"That's the word," Nick said, grabbing another cup. "She wanted it, she begged me for it."

"So you gave it to her." Ethan laughed, sheering him on. Way to go, Nick. Chisel another on into the bedpost."

"Dude gets more action than both of us," Sean said.

"Hey, speak for yourself," Ethan spit. "You're the only one who isn't getting any."

"Yeah, well... at least I don't have to go around boasting about what a tough stud I am, just because you kicked the nuts out of that queer."

"What?" Nick said.

"I know, unbelievable, right?" Sean said. "He thinks just because he crippled the fgt."

"You're the one who kicked his head in?" Nick said. "You almost killed him."

"Chill out, Messina," Ethan said. "People are gonna start to think that you cared about what happened to the queer."

Nick grabbed Ethan by the neck. "You son of a pregnant dog," he said "You almost killed him!" Nick tightened his grip. "Tell me Ethan, did he fight back when you broke his ribs? How about when you were kicking him in the head?"

"What the hell are you doing, Messina?" Sean tried to stop him, but Nick pushed him away.

"Does that make you a big man! Huh! Kicking a guy while he's down! Son of a pregnant dog! I should kill you!" Nick pushed Ethan down, kicking him quickly. "How do you like it?" He kicked him again. "Is that what it was like with Mark? Did he just lay there too, did he! Did he! Tell me how beating the daylights out of him made you a big man. What were you afraid of the scary queer? Well how's it feel to get your ass kicked by one?"

>>>>>>

"So is Eric still around?" Michael asked, getting Marcie a soda, sitting down on the sofa beside her.

"Yeah," Marcie said. "Yeah, he's doing some work here in Llanview. He's not really sure how long he's staying. I'd really... like you to get to know him."

"I'd like to" Michael smiled. "You talk about him all the time. I'd love to meet the guy."

"So... how about we have dinner? We can go out, get something to eat, you can get to know Eric, it'll be so great."

"If we can get in touch with him... anytime is good with me." Marcie smiled as a knock came at the door. "I'll get that" Michael said, going to the door. "Riley." he said. "Hey man, come on in."

"Michael..." he said "Is Marcie here?"

Marcie had gotten up. "What's wrong, Riley?" she said "Is it Jen? Did something happen?"

"No" he said "No it's... it's Nick." Riley sighed. We just got a call..."

"What happened?" Marcie said. "Is he sick again, did he get hurt?..."

"Marcie..." Riley said. "Nick's in jail. He got arrested."


	14. Chapter Fourteen

"How many times do I have to say it?" Nick sat back in his chair in the interrogation room at the LPD. "I know my rights and I don't want a lawyer. I'm not denying anything. I did it."

"You neat a kid unconscious," John said.

"I actually kicked him," Nick said smugly. "So you take me, and you throw me in a cell if you want. I'm making your job a lot easier. I did it."

There was a knock on the two way mirror and John stepped out. "He's got the calvary here," Daniel said.

"Well he admitted to it all. I don't see any problem with it."

"Go take a look at the rioters and then tell me that." John sighed, shaking his head and then walking out.

The seven remaining members of the Love Crew stood there with Michael. "What's going on in there?" Shannon asked John. "We get a phone call... Nick was arrested?"

"He's being held for battery."

"Battery?" Marcie said.

"Yeah, seems that one of those University frat parties got out of control and Nick had to be pulled off the guy... Ethan Harrison."

"So they were fighting," Riley said. "It's the KAD. There's always something going on over there."

"He was kicking the kid while he was on the ground." John explained.

Mark closed his eyes, the headache intense as he could hear the words replay in his mind. 'Come on. Come on! That's enough, let's get out of here!' Mark could feel the blows to his gut and the nerves in his arm involuntarily jerked. It was the most he had remembered about that night, but still no faces.

"He's been asking to talk to you though," John looked at Mark. "You're mark, right?"

"Yeah," Mark said softly. "He wants to see me?"

"That's what he said. The officer can take you down there." John waved over an officer, instructed him what to do and stood back as Mark was led away.

"Johnny..." Michael said. "Bro, we need to talk. Can we..."

"Sure..." John said. "Uh, we can use Bo's office."

>>>>>>

Mark stepped into the holding area where Nick was in isolation. The officer allowed him into the cell. "What did you do?" Mark said softly.

Nick sighed. "I really don't know how many people have to ask me that today."

"They said that you put Ethan in the hospital. What were you thinking?"

"You have no idea," Nick said.

Mark took a seat in front of him. "Why don't you tell me?" he said. "Nick... please, help me understand."

Nick shook his head, "You don't remember. You don't remember anything, but I know. I heard all about what happened that night that you ended up in the hospital. I know every detail."

mark shook his head. "I don't know what that has to do with you beating the life out of Ethan."

"I would never say something like this... but if Ethan Harrison never wakes up... if he dies by some odd chance and I had to spend the rest of my life locked up, I wouldn't care. Not after what he did."

"What did he do!"

He's the one who put you in that coma! He attacked you that day and he admitted it!"

Mark was frozen, shook his head. "There were two of them," he said "I don't remember who did it, but there were two people Nick."

"And one of them was Ethan. He bragged about it. About how he hurt you and..."

"You need a lawyer." Mark said "Nick..."

"No."

"Please don't argue with me about this. You need a lawyer. And if you did this spur of the moment in a blind rage, unplanned, there might be something a lawyer can do to help you."

"I don't need a lawyer. I can afford one anyway. I know what I did. I'm not sorry."

"You did this for me," he said "If you end up in jail, I'm gonna feel responsible so please. One call. I want to make one call, that's all I'm asking you to let me do. I know a lawyer and he won't charge you anything."

"You name me one lawyer who won't be after me for cash and I'd say go for it."

"John J. Solomon, Attorney at Law," Mark said.

"No way," Nick said. "You call your Dad, and your gonna have to tell him everything. I'm gonna have to tell him everything..."

"What's worse, Nick. Having my Dad know that you're gay... or spending the rest of your life in jail?"

"I can not ask you to come out to your family like this."

"They're gonna have to know. I'm gonna have to tell them eventually. And right now is as good a time as any, don't you think? Let me call him. Nick, please. Let me do this for you."


	15. Chapter Fifteen

John closed the door to Bo's office, standing there with Michael. "What's up?" John asked.

"John... Shannon came to me earlier... she remembered about... Aidan."

John shook his head. "Stop," he said. "You need to stop right now with this." Michael took a deep breath, swallowed hard. "God, Michael! I could go to jail for this. So can you!"

"We were protecting Shannon." Michael said.

"You shot him, Michael! I was covering your ass!"

"It was an accident!"

"That doesn't matter!" John said, hand going through his hair. "That doesn't matter, Michael. Don't you get it? Nobody else even knows that you were in that house. Nobody. I took the heat for this, so you can't bring it up again. You got that, Mikey, never again."

"Never again," Michael agreed softly. "To the grave..."

"Good," John said. "Now, you should go um... just go wait with Marcie and the others."

"What about Messina?" Michael asked.

"Nick admitted to everything, Michael." John said. "I don't think there's anything I can do. He's refusing a lawyer..."

"And the kid he beat to a pulp?"

"You'd probably be able to get more information on that than me," John said. "But from what we heard, the kid is pretty bad off."

"I can check up on things at the hospital." Michael said.

"You do that, Michael," John said. "Let me know when the Harrison kid is awake. We need to talk to him."

"If he's as bad as you say..." Michael sighed. "I'll let you know."

John nodded. "Let those kids know that Messina's going to be arraigned in the morning."

>>>>>>

Mark paced nervously outside the police station. He had called his father from the payphone, grateful for the fact that his parents had decided to stay in Llanview after Mark was hurt. It was nice to at least know that he had his family close if he needed them.

"Mark?" Jack Solomon said, hurrying up to his son. "Are you OK? You didn't say much on the phone..."

"I'm OK," Mark said. "I need your help... legally as... as a lawyer, Dad."

"Are you in some kind of trouble?"

Mark shook his head. "Not me," he said "It's Nick."

Jack thought. "The boy your mother met in the hospital. He sat with you for a long time. He's a really good friend of yours."

Mark took a deep breath. "Nick is... he is a lot more than a good friend, Dad. Nick is... Nick is my boyfriend." Jack didn't say a word. Didn't know what to say. "He's my boyfriend, Dad. I'm gay."

"You're what?" Jack managed to say.

"Gay," Mark said softly. "I'm gay. I like... other guys. Gay." Mark watched his father's expression. It was blank, shocked. "I understand that... you're surprised and you didn't expect this. Dad... Dad, please say something."

"You care about him?" Jack said.

Mark nodded. "I love him," he said. "I love him Dad. He means more to me than anything. He's in there behind bars because... he loves me too. Please try to understand this. I know that it's a lot to ask you but... please try. Please Dad."

"Where is Nick now?" Jack said.

"Inside in a cell. You're gonna help him?"

"Of course I am," Jack said. "You're my son. Who you love... is just that."

"You're not disappointed?" Mark asked in shock.

"I'm surprised," he admitted. "I wasn't expecting it but... I still love you, Mark. I don't understand but... I want to. I'd like to try. I want to try."

Mark smiled. "I'd like that. I'd like to help you get it. Get to know the person I am. Get to know Nick.." he smiled. "I think you'll really like Nick. He's... he's really amazing."

"Speaking of," Jack said. "Why don't you show me where he's being held. We'll see what I can do for him."

Mark nodded, smiled with a sigh of relief, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "He's this way." he said, leading his Dad inside.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

John sat down behind his desk, leaning over a stack of papers. He simply stared at them.

_He was watching Michael and Aidan from the foyer, holding Shannon back. The pop from the discharged weapon echoed loudly through the home. Shannon screamed and Michael stepped back shaking as Aidan's lifeless body sunk to the floor._

"I... shot..." Michael stammered.

John walked over to him and grabbed the gun from Michael. "Get out of here, Mikey." he said

"But I shot..."

"Get out of here, Michael! Get on a bus, go back to school and don't say anything. Don't say anything and I'll take care of it." Michael didn't move. "Go!"

John took the revolver into his hand as Michael took off. He knew that he had to do something to keep Michael's name out of all of this. John had to think of something, of anything.

He checked the clip, seeing that there was in fact only one bullet missing. He went over to the side table by the front door, grabbing a single bullet and reloading the clip, setting it now back into the weapon.

"What are you doing?" Shannon cried. "John..." He was set on his actions. "Johnny, what are you doing?" John took the gun wiped it down and the wrapped his uncles lifeless fingers around it. He then took it in his own hands and stuck his arm out the window, firing a shot into the ground. Shannon screamed again. "What are you doing!" she said again. "John!"

"Shannon" he said "Shh. OK? They are not gonna find Michael's prints on that gun. When they ask what happened you're gonna tell them that I did this."

"But Johnny..." Shannon's voice shook.

"No buts Shannon." John said. "Michael was never here. They're gonna find two sets of prints on that gun. Mine and your dad's and they're gonna find gun powder on my hands. I shot him Shannon. I did it, understand?" Shannon was silent. "Shannon, do you understand?"

"You shot him. Michael was never here. You did it."

"I did it," John said softly.

"You did what?" Bo said, standing in front of his desk with Viki.

"Oh..." he said. "Nothing, I'm just losing my mind a little I guess." John laughed it off. "What's up?"

"The kid you brought in for battery." Bo said

"Messina," John said. "Yeah, what about him?"

"He's one of my students," Viki said. "I'd like to see him if that's alright."

John looked at Bo, who nodded. "Sure," John said. "I'll bring you down there."

* * *

Nick was lying back on the rock hard cot in his cell, staring at the ceiling, sizing up the foot long crack in the plaster. Mark had just left to call his father and Nick was alone. Alone and lonely in the deadly silence. It wasn't until he heard two sets of approaching footsteps that he sat erect.

"Messina," John said. "You've got a visitor," he looked at Viki. "He's all yours."

Nick sighed inwardly as Viki approached the cell and John left them alone. He didn't have anything more to say, but he knew that Viki would want to hear the whole story again.

"What on Earth happened here?" Viki said.

"It was unavoidable" Nick said simply. "President Davidson... I did what I had to do."

"You put a boy in the hospital, Nick," she said.

He wanted to say that Ethan deserved it, but bit his tongue. "I deserve whatever happens to me," Nick said. "I'm not going to deny that I did anything, because I did. But I had my reasons. My own... very personal reasons. I don't care what happens to me." Nick paused. "But don't penalize them. The rest of the Love Crew. They had nothing to do with this... they shouldn't suffer, the project shouldn't suffer because of me."

"I think that we need to worry about the community center and the Love Project another time Nick," Viki said. "Because right now, we have bigger matters on our hands here. Like jail time."

"There really is no justice," Nick shook his head.

"You maliciously beat another student into a coma." Viki said.

"He deserved it!" Nick shot up from his seat causing Viki to jump. "He deserved it, President Davidson and you will never understand why."

"Why don't you tell me Nick?" Viki said gently.

"Don't say another thing Nick," Jack said coming into the area with Mark. He approached Viki. "I'm Jack Solomon, Mr. Messina's attorney. Nick, zip it. Now. I need a few minutes alone with him."

"Of course," Viki said. Mark tried to stay.

"You too Mark," Jack said. "I need this to be one on one."

Mark sighed, wanted to protest, but didn't. "Yeah..." he said. He stepped out of the area with Viki.

"Now, Nick" Jack said. "I need to hear the whole story and I need the truth... all of it if you want me to help you." 


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Nick sighed. "I'm only doing this because Mark pleaded with me," he said "I don't really need a lawyer."

"You let me be the judge of that," Jack said, taking a seat outside the bars.

"How much did Mark tell you?" Nick asked, not wanting to be the one to out Mark to his father. "I mean did he tell you about... what's going on?"

"Told me about... his lifestyle," Jack said. "I know about you boys."

"You and Mark... well and Shannon are the only people who know about me being... about me being gay."

"Does your being gay have anything to do with why you beat that boy?"

Nick took a deep breath. "Not me being gay," he said. "But it was... along those lines. I guess."

"So why did you do it?" Jack asked. "What did he do to you?"

"I did it... so that Ethan wouldn't hurt anyone ever again. He doesn't care about... anyone and his values are..." Nick paused. "I guess it's going to come out sooner or later anyway so... I had a problem... with drugs... steroids. But I'm clean now. I've been clean since before Mark was in the hospital. Is that going to affect the outcome?

"It shouldn't come up," Jack said. "Prior bad acts..."

"I'm really screwed, huh?" Nick sighed.

"We'll see what we can do"

Nick fell back on his cot, once again staring at the crack in the ceiling. The heavy fall of footsteps could be heard echoing the hallway to the holding area.

"Well this just might be your lucky day, Messina," John said, swinging open the jail cell. "You are free to go."

"What?" Nick said.

"The charges have been dropped. The Harrison kid woke up. He's talking. Says that this was all a misunderstanding. You're free to go."

"Ethan says that this was a misunderstanding?" Nick said.

"I wouldn't argue with it if I were you, Nick," John said. "That kid just let you off the hook of a lot of jail time. I'd be grateful."

"Grateful." he said "He's the one who should be grateful."

"Take a walk, Nick," John said. "Before I find another reason to arrest you."

>>>>>>

The KAD welcomed Ethan back after about a week and a half and were now holding a meeting in secret. Ethan stood up front with Sean beside him.

"So here's the deal," Ethan said. "Coach has me benched for our next game on Sunday, but I managed to have Messina kept on the team. It took a lot of doing, but it's done."

"Do we really want to play with that faggot?" Sean said.

"Listen to me," Ethan continued. "I don't think Nicky realizes that we know he's queer. So what we're gonna do, is we're gonna get even."

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Sean shook his head. "We start going after our own team and it's gonna look suspicious."

"That's why we're not going to go after our own team. It just so happens that I know the guys on the team that we're playing tomorrow. They've agreed to cover Nick."

"Who agreed?"

"It's taken care of," Ethan smiled. "We set up Nicky, he takes the fall. Faggot's not gonna know what hit him." They all chuckled. "OK, OK," Ethan said. "Listen up. This is what we gotta do."


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Mark was lying on his bed, watching as Nick stepped in from the shower. He was wearing only a pair of blue track pants and Mark smiled at the beauty of his bare torso.

Nick looked over at him. "What are you smiling at?" he asked.

"You," he said as Nick perched himself on the edge of the bed, hovering over Mark.

"Me?" he said with a smirk.

"You sound surprised," Mark said "You shouldn't be."

Nick had already leaned down to capture Mark's lips, kissing him deeply. Mark cast his left arm up, resting his hand on the back of Nick's head, fingers tunneling through his dampened hair. A tiny whimper escaped Mark's mouth as his hand now traveled down the skin of Nick's back.

Nick leaned down closer, embrace deepening as there was a loud knock at the door. "Boys!" Shannon called through the closed door. "Somebody in there needs to come make breakfast!"

Mark laughed, shaking his head. "I'll do it," he said to Nick. "You gotta go anyway, right?"

"Yeah," Nick sighed. "I'll just see you after the game."

"Yeah, I'll see you later," Mark kissed him quickly and then headed down to the kitchen.

"It's about time, we're starving," Shannon said.

"Oh you poor child," Mark teased. He looked around. "Where's Marcie?"

"Somebody didn't come home last night Hudson said.

"Oh shut up," Jen smiled. "She's with Michael. She's going to meet us at the game."

"Enough said," Mark laughed. "I get the picture.. now... breakfast..."

>>>>>>

Marcie stretched, letting out a tiny moan as she opened her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light. She reached over, feeling the empty space in the bed beside her.

"Michael?" she said softly. "Mich... Michael?" Marcie sat up slowly, clutching the bedsheet around her.

Michael was sitting by the window, gazing outside. He turned as Marcie approached him. "Morning," he said softly. Marcie pulled up a chair and sat.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. "Michael..." Michael simply shook his head. "Something's wrong." Marcie said. "For weeks now, Michael. Please tell me."

I can't." Michael said.

"You don't trust me?" Marcie asked.

"Sweetie," Michael looked at her now, took her hands. "That's not true. You know I trust you."

"Then talk to me," Marcie squeezed Michael's hand gently. "Trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you."

"I', afraid to," Michael admitted. "I'm afraid that... if I tell you I'll lose you."

"You won't lose me," Marcie said. "Michael... you won't lose me. I love you."

"Marcie if I tell you I..." Michael paused. "You can't tell anyone. Marcie, you can't, OK?" Marcie nodded. "OK... OK, I'll tell you."


	19. Chapter Nineteen

A/N: OK, just a little note that comes up briefly in this chapter. It will be covered a little more extensively in the coming installment of The Love Center. Towards the middle of the chapter, Hudson will make a reference to Kevin and Baby Ace. For my version of OLTL, there never was a baby switch. Babe is the biological mother of Ace, but the baby was legally given up for adoption by her. This will come into play more in the next installment, but I thought I'd clarify a little now Enjoy.

* * *

Nick had just stepped out of the locker room in full uniform when he saw the rest of the team already preparing to hit the field. "Here he comes," Sean said loudly. "Here comes Messina. We gonna win this one out there today, Messina?"

"Don't we always?" Nick smiled.

"These guys though..." Sean said.

"We played them before," Nick said. "They're tough but we've got them."

"Field gentlemen!" the coach said.

The team ran off to gather on the field and Ethan managed to hang behind. He looked around for a minute before opening the side door. In walked a larger boy, a little bigger than Nick.

"What's the word?" he asked Ethan.

"Nick Messina," he said "He's wearing number 23 out there. You know who I'm talking about?"

"I know the guy," he said "So he turned out to be a queer." He paused. "So how bad do you want this?"

"I don't want Nicky to walk away from this," Ethan said. "I want him to be caught off guard... I don't want him to see this coming Pete."

"You just give the ball to Messina. He won't walk off that field. That I garruntee you."

>>>>>>

"Where's Marcie?" Shannon said as she and the rest of the Love Crew sat in the bleachers at LU.

"She'll be here." Jen said. She looked over at Hudson who was reading the paper. She pushed it down. "Don't read that here."

"The Lieutenant Governor got his son back." Hudson pointed out. "I happen to be following the whole thing. When he and his ex-wife adopted him, the custody hearings, the kidnapping... It's a miracle that that baby is back with his father."

"I'm just glad that the crazy woman who took him is behind bars." Mark said as the football team took the field.

"Marcie is going to miss this," Shannon said again.

"She'll be here," Riley said. "Relax."

The teams had already begun to play and the LU Panthers had control of the ball. Sean made sure that Nick had his hands on the ball and was allowed to run a lot of the plays.

The game went on well for the first fifteen minutes of the quarter. The whistle blew and Sean got the ball to Nick. With the crowd cheering, Nick headed towards the endzone. Every other player seemed covered, but then out of nowhere, Pete went for Nick's lower back, snapping him forward, his neck flying back and forth and his head hitting the ground at full impact.

The whistle blew and the teams went back to the line. Nick didn't move. The crowd went silent, watching as the paramedics drove out onto the field. They slowly removed Nick's helmet . Blood poured down from a gash on his forehead. The collar went around his neck and Nick was lifted on a gurney into the ambulance.

>>>>>>

Michael took a deep breath, standing from his chair. "Marcie," he said, pausing. "It's something that happened... about eight years ago. I've never told anyone."

"You can tell me," Marcie said. "Anything, Michael." She stood and approached him.

"This is... it's different Marc. This is... it's a part of my past that I can't think about. That I haven't talked about. I shouldn't."

"Why?" Marcie said. "What can be so bad, Michael, that you'd think I'd hate you? What would make you think that you'd lose me?"

"I can't..."

"Michael."

"I killed somebody!" Michael exclaimed. Marcie's jaw dropped, breathing stopped for a moment. She couldn't move. "Marcie..." Michael said as the phone rang. He didn't answer it, let the machine pick it up. "Say something Marcie." he pleaded. "Please."

"Michael, Marcie..." Jen's voice came over the answering machine. "Michael, there's been an accident. It's... it's Nick, he got hurt. He looks really bad. God I hope you didn't leave for the game already. "Guys meet us at the hospital. It doesn't look good." The phone clicked.

"We have to go" Marcie said simply. We have to go to the hospital."

"Marcie..." Michael said. "Sweetie..." Marcie had already turned, gone to get dressed. "Can you just say something to me. Anything?"

"Can we go?" Marcie said. "Hurry."

Michael sighed, grabbed his keys. He and Marcie left the room, hurrying to the hospital.

**_TBC in The Love Center: Family Matters_**


End file.
